Dennis Dugan (born September 5, 1946) is an American actor, film director and screenwriter.

Life and career

Dugan was born in Wheaton, Illinois. He started his acting career in 1972, and has appeared in such films as the 1976 films Harry and Walter Go to New York and Norman, Is That You?. In 1979, he was ideally cast as the time-displaced hero in Unidentified Flying Oddball, Disney's updated remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. His first notable television appearance was in the Columbo episode Last Salute to the Commodore, as a young police officer. Then he was the star of the short-lived 1977 series Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, playing a character who originated in a telemovie, and then made guest appearances in the role of Brockelman on The Rockford Files before getting his own show. He also appeared on Empire (1984) and Shadow Chasers (1984), and was a semi-regular as an erstwhile "caped crusader" on Hill Street Blues. Dugan's films credits of the 1980s include the 1987 romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love and the 1988 film The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking.